…and part time working. It’s the way of the future, isn’t it? Sorting out the working week so as to make more family time for women with children, to sort out the last parts of that gender pay gap and bring on the bright new dawn? That’s the argument isn’t it?

Midwives are the weak link that no one wants to talk about. When there
are 10,000 midwife vacancies, when 60 per cent of those who do work are
part-time, some cannot even spot a woman in labour, let alone provide
the one-to-one support that controlled trials have shown can
significantly reduce adverse outcomes. And when so many are patronising
or panicked, the effect can be disastrous.

Might not be the cure all some insist.